Copyright: Physical
rights are retained by the Earl K. Long Library, University of New Orleans.

Citation: Francis
C. Plough Collection, Earl K. Long Library, University of New Orleans

Historical
/ Biographical Note

These
small five-dollar bonds were issued by the State of Louisiana in about 1880 in
a desperate bid to raise money for education. They are known as “Baby Bonds”
because they feature a small child in a fancy bonnet on the front. Interest
was for 7˝ cents a year. The five dollars was redeemable in 1886. Five of the
original eleven coupons remain. The reverse side is printed entirely in green
and resembles a banknote.

The
letter, which is apparently unrelated to the Baby Bond, was written by Joseph
Kohn (November 14, 1845 - January 29, 1921), a native of Germany who came to the
United States in 1859 and established his home in New Orleans in 1868. The
fortune he made in the wholesale hat, cap, and trunk business made possible his
philanthropic interests, which included the Jewish Orphans’ Home, the Young
Men’s and Young Women’s Hebrew Associations, and Touro Infirmary. Kohn’s civic
endeavors included lengthy service on the Board of Trade, the Board of Health’s
Quarantine Committee, the board of Delgado Trade School, and the Finance
Committee of the New Orleans School Board, as well as on numerous committees
and boards of the Jewish Orphans’ Home. A New Orleans high school was named in
his honor.

325-1 Five-dollar bond (#24188), State of Louisiana,
ca. 1880. Commonly known as a “Baby Bond” because of the image of a small
child in a fancy bonnet at the lower right corner. Coupons 7 through 11 still
attached.